A Pale Light In The Black (by KB Wagers) Reread - Chapters 35-36 (Really Chapters 29-30)

Welcome back to my reread of K.B. Wagers' "A Pale Light in the Black!"  You can find the other posts in this reread here.  For those somehow seeing this post first instead of the others, A Pale Light in the Black is a space opera featuring a SF space version of the Coast Guard in an optimistic future universe.

We're in the final third of the novel, as our crew and Max's sister finally are on the same page regarding the urgency of working together to figure out the mystery of the Dupe LifeEx.  Or seem to be on the same page at least.  That said, that doesn't mean the mystery will be easy to solve, and our heroes probably will need to do their favorite thing to blow off steam.....get into a bar fight.





Chapter 35 (29) : Thirteen Weeks Until the Boarding Games:

Quick Summary: Ria's security chief Bosco, after a rough start, fills the team in on the situation: individuals from the lost system jumpers have shown up and been found dead recently, but their bodies are far younger than they should be, as if they've been preserved at a younger age far far better than what LifeEx provides.  Naturally Bosco warns the team to keep that quiet for fear it might spread interest in the dupe - despite the dupe's deadly side effect.  Given the timeline, the team suggests the culprit may have some connection to LifeEx's origin 100 plus years ago, but can't figure out anything more, so they break to relax.

Of course, that relaxation takes Max, Jenks, Luis and Ma (temporarily) to a local bar to relax.  Max finds the Luis/Jenks tension (it's better but still there) a bit unnerving, so she goes to the bartender to get a new cup of water....when the flirting bartender reveals there are three men spying on them in the corner.  When Max tells the others about the trio, Luis confirms they're not people he knows, and Jenks asks Max to provide a distracting story......

Thoughts:  I kind of have low thoughts on Bosco's investigative skills - assuming she's not lying or withholding information - if she wasn't thinking about a culprit being from the very beginning, especially with the system jumper crews being from back around then.  Of course the odds she's telling the whole truth is.....well.

In more fun parts of this world, we find out about how Luis grew up with two adorable sounding mothers and how unremarkable it is for a guy to be wearing eye liner and glitter is, as apparently the bartender referred to as "he" who flirts with Max is doing.  Not even a blink.  Oh and Jenks is apparently talking directly to Luis' mothers, after years of trying to pretend their relationship was solely sexual - I think she's finally coming around to realizing where she wants this to go.....

Chapter 36 (30):

Quick Summary:  Jenks uses her lip reading skill to note the three spies are debating capturing her, and refer to a Gerard giving them orders to watch, not "engage."  Too impatient to simply keep trying to watch them, Jenks causes a bar fight to commence by kissing another member of the bar he knows and uses that to drop all three spies.

#NumberOfTimesTheCrewofZumasGhostHasGottenIntoABarFight: 3 

Unfortunately, since Jenks is the aggressor, NeoG can't hold the three spies for anything other than a minor charge of false IDs.  So Intel lets them go, to Jenks' dismay, with plans to try and track them to their leader.

Afterwards, Rosa asks her wife to check with her before getting the kids' next LifeEx treatment.  Meanwhile Max finds a mysterious person labeled "G" in her grandfather's journal and Ria reveals that "G" refers to a Thomas Gerard - the same last name as mentioned by the guys in the bar, although Ria insists Gerard died and that's a dead end.  Max isn't so sure Ria is telling the truth though.....

Thoughts:  Yes, that hashtag/counter is going to continue though this reread, although I suspect I managed to miss at least one bar fight somewhere.  But what can we say, with Jenks on the team, and Max or Rosa only slightly better, it's inevitable.  Still Jenks' bar fight strategy is kind of funny, although she kind of sexually harasses a woman (who she seems to know I guess) to help start it by planting the random kiss.  Bad Jenks.

And yep, Ria is still lying.  It's honestly more frustrating as a rereader than it should be for Max - because there really isn't anything about Gerard's life or suspicions about it that can possibly hurt the company....is Ria just paranoid that the government will prefer to go along the lines of Gerard's research instead of LifeEx's?  Because honestly that's ridiculous with the side effect, and given the danger the side effect poses, should be of secondary concern.  But Ria is obsessed with protecting the company to everyone's dismay.

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That's it for this time.  Next time: Max and Nika figure out their relationship, and everyone gets ready for the main event: The Boarding Games!